When Oakland County hosts its annual county meet at Waterford Mott on Feb. 6, there will not only be several state-ranked teams in the mix, but also some serious Birmingham-Bloomfield flavor.
The two cities contribute six state-ranked teams in the mid-January polls, including the top ranked schools in each division, according to MISCA.
Brother Rice, the defending Oakland County champion, holds the fort at No. 1 in Division 1, Birmingham Seaholm tops the charts in Division 2, and Cranbrook Kingswood is the top-ranked squad in Division 3.
Elsewhere, Bloomfield Hills is No. 10 in Division 1, Birmingham Groves is No. 7 in Division 2, and Detroit Country Day slides in at No. 6 in Division 3.
While the Birmingham-Bloomfield schools have dominated pools at the county and state levels for decades, they are not the only ones making noise from talent-rich Oakland County.
In Division 1, Detroit Catholic Central is ranked sixth, while South Lyon Unified, Troy, and Lake Orion are all honorable mention in the polls. Division 2 sees North Farmington and Rochester Adams both listed as honorable mention.
It will be a dogfight for the team title and berths in the top five and the top 10 at the county championship. Throw in dozens of potential state qualifiers, and this annual midseason meet is the who’s who in prep swimming.
Do well at the Oakland County tournament, and it’s a good omen for the upcoming league and state meets.